Nerd Date
by KTstoriesandstuff
Summary: ONESHOT: Beetee tackles his most pressing problem yet: asking the young lady he likes out on a date! Fluff ensues! Enjoy!


**Disclaimer:** If I owned the Hunger Games, I would've written them for all the people on Team Nerds!

A/N: Wow... I've written a lot about these two. Like ridiculous amounts. Here's another oneshot! It might become part of a prequel to "Perceptions of a Shattered Brain." We shall see! Anyway, enjoy this little bit of random fluff! :)

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"Morning." Wiress said at the door to Innovation Incoroporated better known as I-Squared. She was there for her Saturday internship.

"Good morning, Wiress." Beetee said. He watched his eager eighteen-year old intern set up her work table chatting about the projects she was working on at the Engineering Academy. "You're doing the 'develop a digitally controlled motor' project, right? Jones' class? The runner-up to that final Junior year project."

"Yes – how did you know?" Wiress asked surprised. Beetee chuckled.

"I was in his advanced mechanical engineering I class at the academy." Wiress raised her eyebrows.

"Wow – he's been teaching for that long?" She asked shocked. Beetee blushed madly.

"I – well – um – well - what – what is _that_ supposed to mean?" He stammered. She giggled and blushed before hiding her face behind a manual she was reading. Beetee looked over from his table and smiled at her. He thought she was so cute when she laughed.

"Oh – I guess – it was only eight years ago." Wiress said once she recovered. "Jones did say this year would be his tenth year." She paused looking at Beetee who was smiling at her sheepishly. "Well, Einstein says that time is relative after all." She quipped causing Beetee to laugh really hard. They settled into their work day and were soon chatting about their project at hand. As Beetee watched Wiress work, he knew that he couldn't put off asking a certain question anymore.

"I um –" Beetee paused watching Wiress finish her sketch she had started the previous day. "I would like to discuss how to integrate the wiring with your design."

"Ok." Wiress said. "I'm not quite there yet. Maybe next week?"

"I mean – preliminarily." Beetee said. _Think fast, Beetee!_ He groaned. If this was a complex electromagnetic equation, he would have had it solved several minutes ago in his head. However, this challenge was a bit more formidable. "I – ah – I would like to discuss it – um – tonight."

"Ok." Wiress said. "My grandmother and I aren't doing anything this evening."

"Ok." Beetee adjusted his glasses and then rearranged his pens in his pocket-protector. He knew he just had to grit his teeth and do it. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. Wiress' confused look as she locked her large beautiful eyes on his face didn't help. "Wiress, I – I'm inviting you to dinner tonight. At my place."

"Oh." Wiress said. She smiled. "To discuss the design? I might need to get some textbooks from home."

"Well – maybe – yes – no – um – well – you don't need to go back home. Just – I mean – unless you need to tell your grandmother." Beetee stammered. Wiress smiled.

"I can go home and tell her at lunch." Wiress said smiling.

"Yeah. Sure. Ok. Sounds good." Beetee stammered. "In fact – uh – early lunch?"

"Sure." Beetee made sure Wiress was two blocks away before fist-pumping the air and cheering. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" He said using his best Caesar Flickerman impression. "Beetee Tesla is going on a DATE!"

Wiress stood at the door of Beetee's house at Victor's Village. Her grandmother pulled out a comb and started combing the back of her hair. "Grandma!" She yelped.

"Well, you were playing with your ribbon back there, my live-wire!" Her grandmother said chuckling. "Don't you want to look nice for this little dinner?"

"Thanks." Wiress said. She knocked on the door and it opened almost instantly.

"You must've been standing right by the door just waiting for my little live-wire, young man!" Wiress blushed a deep maroon as her grandmother chuckled and shook hands with Beetee.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Carpenter." Beetee said smiling. "When do you need her home?"

"Oh, I'd say by ten." She hugged Wiresss. "You enjoy yourself, ok?"

"Thanks, Grandma." Wiress said. Her grandmother walked away humming happily to herself.

"Come in." Beetee said. He helped Wiress take her coat off and she took her shoes off. She was wearing a light green blouse and her black skirt from her uniform. "You look nice."

"You do too." Wiress said. Beetee had his work shirt on and had changed out of jeans into slacks. She sniffed the air. "Is that spaghetti sauce?"

"Yeah." Beetee said as he led her to the dining room table. "Would you look at that, it's boiling!" She waited while he got dinner ready. He brought out plates of spaghetti. After bringing out a basket of the usual bite-size square rolls many people in the district ate, he sat down. "Dinner is served!"

"This looks really good!" Wiress said grinning. She began eating. "What did you put in the sauce?"

"What do you mean?" Beetee asked.

"I mean – what spices?"

"I could get the can and look." Beetee replied. "Um – does your grandma make spaghetti sauce from scratch?"

"Well, when we have spaghetti. We usually eat noodles and butter with some vegetables." She nibbled on a bite. "I think I've had this sauce once before." Beetee nodded. "Do you eat this a lot?"

"Well – this or noodles in cheese sauce."

"What sort of cheese do you use?" Wiress asked curiously. She figured as a victor, he could buy the expensive sort of cheese at the store or even special-order it from somewhere.

"Uh – " Suddenly Beetee felt very embarrassed. "Cheese-sauce packets." Wiress began laughing.

"You eat Mac and Cheese!" She started giggling again. "I'm sure it tastes good though." She reached for his hand without thinking. His hand felt like a piece of metal being attracted by a magnet as he reached his hand out. Electricity shot up his arm as wrapped his fingers around hers.

"Maybe I can fix it for you sometime." Beetee said grinning. "It's easy." Wiress nodded. "Do you cook or is it just your grandmother?"

"I help." Wiress said. "We do a lot of improvising." She said. "Grandma says that it keeps her mind sharp, though." She smiled. "Grandma would love it if you came over sometime."

"Did she say that this afternoon?" Beetee asked. It was Wiress' turn to blush as Beetee began laughing. Wiress nodded. They finished their dinners and Beetee collected their plates. They went into the living room and Beetee settled onto a couch. He patted a spot next to him and Wiress joined him.

"Thanks again for dinner." Wiress said smiling.

"No problem." Beetee replied. Their hands found each other and Wiress smiled as Beetee gripped her hand in his warm clasp. "Wiress, it's been really great having you as an intern. You do amazing work." He smiled. "And you're an amazing young lady." Wiress smiled before looking at the floor. She was a bit shy when others complimented her. A light rain was starting to fall. Beetee instinctively put his arm around Wiress and pulled her closer to keep her warm. "So, any plans for the summer?"

"If my friends and I are still a group, we'll get jobs in the factories. Melissa – she's one of my friends – her dad knows some people."

"What do you mean if your friends are still a group?" Beetee asked concerned noticing the sadness cross Wiress' face.

"One of my friends has to take out tesserae." Wiress whispered.

"Does she know about the I-Squared scholarship?" Beetee asked.

"She didn't think she needed it this year. The deadline passed already." Wiress bit her lip to keep from crying, but a tear slid down her face. Beetee cupped her face in his hand and wiped her tears away with his fingers.

"How many slips do you have in?" Beetee asked.

"Ten." Beetee nodded. _That was still ten too many._ "I only took out tesserae the year my parents died. Then – Then I got your scholarship." Beetee smiled. "Thank you."

"I hate it when you juniors are reaped." Beetee whispered. "I was your age." Wiress nodded. "You are so close and then –" He sighed. "You know, at least you have a good skill set to work off of." Wiress recognized the far-away look on his face. She knew he was thinking about his former tributes because she had the same look on her face when she was remembering her parents. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lay her head under his chin. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Wiress said. "You can't help but remember." She noticed a technical drawing on the table and they began talking about that. The clock on the wall chimed nine times.

"I'll walk you back home." Beetee said. He helped Wiress back into her coat.

"Thank you again." Wiress said. They walked hand in hand down the quiet streets of District Three. She exchanged smiles with Beetee. They were both looking forward to more nights like these in the very near future.

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A/N: As of July 14, this little oneshot is now part of Held Together by Forces and Sparks :) Yay! :)


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